


The Ring

by brookwrites



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Amazingphil - Freeform, DAN AND PHIL - Freeform, Dan Howell - Freeform, Daniel Howell - Freeform, Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, Phan - Freeform, Phan Fluff, Phandom - Freeform, Phanfiction, Phil Lester - Freeform, danisnotonfire - Freeform, dap, dnp, phan oneshot, phanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 09:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13097118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brookwrites/pseuds/brookwrites
Summary: Phil really expected Dan to come back from his date with the biggest smile on his face Phil’s ever seen. Instead, he comes back with puffy, red eyes. Phil can’t let him go on like this.





	The Ring

Phil plopped down in the office chair, letting it spin around a few times. He wore a weary smile, one of mixed emotion. He’d done a good job of repressing his feelings for Dan over the last eight years, but that night they’d all come back up. He’d just sent Dan off to his dinner date. The image of the adorable man in a sleek, black tuxedo was still fresh in his mind, and he blushed a little bit thinking of it.

Phil immediately kicked himself for it. He couldn’t feel like this. Not anymore. After that night, Dan would be engaged.

Dan had been with his girlfriend for a year and a half, and he’d finally bought a ring to surprise her with that night. Phil had spent the last ten minutes watching him pace around the living room spurting “what if”s every few seconds until Phil finally decided to grab him by the shoulders. “You’ll be fine,” he had said. “She loves you. She’ll say yes.”

“Thanks, Phil,” Dan had said, pulling him in for a hug. Phil was initially startled, but then he had warmed up to the hug, closing his eyes and allowing himself to fall into the brunette’s embrace. It was warm; he wished he could have stayed there. But he couldn’t. He still couldn’t.

He had to let Dan go. Dan was probably already sitting across from his soon-to-be-fiance at dinner. Phil needed to forget about him and just move on. Forget. Distract yourself. Phil could only think of one distraction: the thing he came in here for in the first place. He pulled up their latest gaming footage on the computer for editing, settling in for the long haul.

A few minutes in, he caught Dan giving him something their viewers had dubbed “Heart Eyes Howell”. It meant nothing; he wished it meant something, but it didn’t. Almost viciously he dragged his mouse, cutting the scene out of the finished product. What was the point of leading people on? He’d spent enough time leading himself on; he might as well spare the rest of them.

He edited out a few more of the scenes, realizing for the first time how abundant they were. It would have been so easy to convince himself they held a secret meaning he couldn’t quite reach, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let himself fall in deeper. Phil finished editing and looked at his phone; it had only been an hour since Dan left. Phil wished he was back already. He knew, though, that Dan would probably be out late celebrating that night. He’d just turn on some anime and watch on his own.

Flopping his long limbs on the couch, he did exactly that: chomp down on some popcorn while watching anime alone. Was this what it was going to be like when Dan moved out?

That was another thought that’s crossed Phil’s mind more often than he would have liked to admit. Dan was going to get married, and then he was going to get a house with his wife and leave Phil. Phil was not only losing his crush to someone else; he was losing his best friend.

Phil knew he should be happy for Dan. If he really loved him, he’d want what’s best for him and what made him happiest. But deep down, Phil wanted what would make himself happiest, and that was Dan. He tried not to be selfish, but it’s just human nature. It’s hard. When Dan got home, the smile on his face wider than the entire continental United States, Phil was going to smile with him. He was going to congratulate him, he was going to hug him, and he was going to try his hardest to make these feelings genuine. He was going to do what would make Dan happiest. 

That’s when the door creaked open. 

Phil expected Dan to be out much longer; why the hell was he home that early? Before he could even think about his movements, Phil was up on his feet and making his way to the door. Dan had trounced his way a few feet in from the doorway, his eyes red and puffy. The truth of the situation hit Phil immediately; he didn’t even need to ask. 

She said no. 

“Dan…” He approached the brunette, the fresh tears still shining on his cheeks. “I’m so sorry.” He wrapped his arms around Dan, holding him in his warmth. Dan was cold from being outside in the winter night, but he could feel his skin getting warmer just from Phil’s touch. 

“She dumped me, Phil,” he choked out in between sobs. “I got down on one knee and she dumped me.” 

Phil’s fists clenched behind Dan’s back. He visualized Dan’s ex girlfriend; she’d always seemed so nice in his mind. He’d rarely thought of her as his competition; it was only tonight that his feelings for Dan were barreling back up into his life. He couldn’t imagine her hearing Dan propose to her and just leaving him. He couldn’t imagine anyone doing that to Dan. 

“It’s okay, Dan. You’ll be okay.” 

“I’ve been with her for over a year, Phil!” Dan pulled out of Phil’s embrace, looking him in the eye. “How could she do this to me?” 

“I don’t know, Dan. But whatever the reason, if she couldn’t understand your beauty and want to be with you for the rest of both your lives, then she doesn’t deserve you anyway.” Phil took Dan’s hands; they were wet from wiping away his tears. 

“Nobody deserves me. I’m a burden.” 

“No, you’re not.” Phil’s heart broke as he held Dan’s cold, clammy hands. “You’re right when you say nobody deserves you. But that’s not because you’re horrible; it’s because you’re wonderful. Trust me.” 

Phil’s eyes connected with Dan’s chestnut browns, and he could see a bit of a smile deep in his irises. A little bit of happiness and love just from looking at him. Phil smiled back, his mouth showing a weary, sympathetic smile, but his eyes showing love and care. Dan blinked, and it seemed as if he had made a decision. Before Phil could comprehend it, his lips were pressed against Dan’s. 

The kiss was cold, physically, but Phil’s stomach filled with warmth at the touch. His mind swarmed with thoughts at first, but he soon relaxed into the kiss and allowed Dan’s lips to take him away. Eventually, Dan was the first to pull back, his eyes now showing bits of love and bits of fear. The fear dissolved, though, as soon as Phil took his hand. “You know I don’t deserve you.” 

“Oh, I know.” 

A few minutes later, Phil cradled Dan in his embrace on the couch. His popcorn bowl sat in Dan’s lap as the younger crunched on the fluffy kernels. The light from the anime playing on the television screen illuminated their faces in the dark living room. Phil was truly in love. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have doubts. One doubt in particular stuck out to him, and he simply couldn’t hold it in anymore. 

“Dan?”

“Mm?”

“Weren’t you ready to propose to a girl an hour ago?” 

Phil could feel Dan’s body tense up. “Yeah…” 

“And now you’re in love with me?” 

The hesitation before Dan spoke was quite possibly the worst moment of Phil’s life. Finally, Dan’s soft voice began to slowly ring. “Well, I’ve always loved you. Just a little bit. But I really fell for her, you know?” He took a deep breath, his breathing a bit shaky. “I really thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. But then when she rejected me, I came home to you, and you were the one who was really there for me. It wasn’t until then that I realized that although I loved you both, you were the one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.” 

Phil exhaled out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in, a smile he was unable to contain crossing his lips. “I don’t know why I even thought about worrying about it.” He leaned over and planted a soft kiss on Dan’s chapped lips. 

Dan reached his hand into the pocket of the dress pants he was still wearing and pulled out a small, black box. “I did spend a lot of money on this ring though,” he said, in an almost teasing tone. He cocked his head up to look at Phil. “I was thinking maybe I could re-purpose it?” He opened the box for Phil to gaze upon the ring. 

Phil could remember shopping for the ring with Dan, who insisted on a simple, sliver band without any sort of diamonds or jewels. He kept telling Phil his girlfriend was such a simple person it’s what she’d appreciate. Apparently the simple ring turned out to be a good decision. 

“Obviously it wouldn’t be for the same purpose, given we only started dating about half an hour ago,” Dan chuckled. “We are dating, right?” 

“Of course, you spork!” Phil shouted, pulling the spork card Dan usually pulled on him. 

“Okay, okay! Anyway, I was thinking maybe it could be more of a promise ring?” 

“What exactly am I promising?” 

“Well, maybe to not leave me if I propose to you.” 

Phil laughed. “I haven’t left you for eight years; why would I now?” 

The two laughed together for a moment before Dan continued. “And maybe just hold onto it until it can go back to its original purpose. Of course, you’d have to take it off for videos, but…” Dan looks up into Phil’s illuminated eyes. 

“I, Philip Michael Lester, promise not to ditch you, Daniel James Howell, and to hold onto this ring for us both,” Phil said, raising his right hand and putting out his left for Dan to slip the ring onto his finger. 

Two years later, Phil snaps out of his flashback. He notices he’s been fiddling with the very ring he was remembering the origin of. Shaking his head, he tries to focus. Dan’s sitting in his room; he needs to go have this discussion with him. Phil takes a deep breath, pushing open the door. “Hey, Dan?” 

His brunette boyfriend looks up at him, closing his laptop and setting it down beside him. He could obviously sense the nervousness in Phil’s voice. “What is it?” 

Phil steps to Dan’s bedside and closes his eyes for a second, running his palm over the silver band on his finger as he thinks of the two of them and all the good times they’ve had over the years. Even before they started dating, Dan has always been his best friend and love of his life, and he’s practically been living his dream for the last two years. But Phil’s not satisfied anymore. He slides the ring off of his finger. “I can’t keep this for you anymore.” 

Dan’s face immediately goes completely pale. “W-what?” 

“I think it’s about time I give it back to you.” And then Phil’s on one knee in front of Dan, the seriousness on his face dissolving to a smile of both love and pure fear. “Will you marry me?” 

The immediate response from Dan is definitely not what Phil anticipated; he gets a swift slap across the face, leaving his cheeks stinging. “Holy shit, Phil! Don’t scare me like that!” Dan takes a deep breath, blinking tears from his eyes. “Sorry. That probably hurt more than I intended. Of course I’ll marry you, you spork. Come here.” Dan sets his laptop on the floor and slides over, making room for Phil to squeeze in beside him. 

As he situates himself under the covers, Phil slips the ring onto Dan’s finger. “What kind of idiot unknowingly picks out his own engagement ring two years in advance?” 

“The kind of idiot that would marry you.” 

“Touche.” Their lips connect for a moment. The feeling holds no novelty; they’ve been kissing for two years. Still, the feeling of warmth in his stomach has never left Phil when they kiss, and now it’s stronger than ever. “I’ll admit though,” said Phil, “It is a pretty nice ring.” 

Dan smiled, his white teeth showing in the small amount of sunlight shining through his blinds as he held his hand up, allowing them both to admire the silver band. “And now it’s finally found its purpose.”


End file.
